Application deadline: APRIL 13, 2025 11:59pm CT
2025 HSACA – The Glover Awards Rules and Entry Directions
In honor of music industry trailblazer, songwriter, and Hot Springs native, Henry Glover, on what would have been his 100,th birthday, the Hot Springs Area Cultural Alliance (HSACA) created the Glover Awards for Songwriting Excellence in 2021, and inducted him into the downtown “Walk of Fame.”
The Arts & The Park 2025: Celebrate Imagination festival will host the “4th Annual Glover Awards for Songwriting Excellence” on April 27th, 2025, during Art Springs at Hill Wheatley Plaza in downtown Hot Springs, AR.
To be eligible to win, songs must be submitted according to the guidelines below and FINALISTS MUST BE AVAILABLE TO PERFORM LIVE IN HOT SPRINGS, AR, ON SATURDAY, APRIL 26, 2025, @ 5pm.
Awards and Evaluations
There will be 3 prizes awarded.
First Place – The Glover trophy and $500
Second Place – $250
Third Place – $100
Songs will be judged on the following criteria:
1] Title, 2] Hook, 3] Form, 4] Structure, 5] Melody, 6] Tempo, 7] Lyrics, 8] Emotion, 9] Length, and 10] Overall song
Genre / Song Categories for 2025
A winner in each genre/song category listed below will be officially recognized.
* Americana/Folk * Bluegrass * Country * Gospel * Heavy Metal * Hip Hop * Indie * Jazz * Pop * Rap * Rhythm & Blues * Rock * Soul * World
Submission Guidelines & Application Procedure
• Applicants must submit: 1) an original song in an mp3 format, and 2) a lyric sheet.
(Instrumental songs will not be considered in the 2025 competition.)
• The song recording should be no longer than 5 minutes in duration
• All applications are to be submitted online through the Entry Form below
• All fields on the form should be completed and $20 application fee paid
• Any applicants under 18 years of age must have a permission waiver signed by a parent or guardian
• Should any difficulties arise uploading the submission, please email: support@hotspringsarts.org
Rules and Regulations
• Each entrant must submit full names of all contributing songwriters, a single phone and email address for one of the songwriters to be a point of contact.
• Names of performers in the mp3 submission are also required to properly credit those performers for their appearance, but the songwriters will be the only eligible winners.
• There is no limit to the number of songs you may enter, however each song entry requires a separate submission and paid $20 application fee, ex. 2 songs entered in separate submissions will be a total of $40. Songwriters may also enter in more than one genre.
• Plagiarism of copyrighted material is illegal. It is the responsibility of the songwriter to assure that their submission is an original composition. If any elements of the song entry are copyrighted, it is the responsibility of the songwriter to secure permission for use of those elements.
• All song submissions remain the property of the songwriter. HSACA will not use or have any ownership of songs submitted into the contest. HSACA may use video clips of the Glover Awards finalists performing on stage for informational, marketing, and/or promotional purposes.
• Submissions will be narrowed down to 7-10 finalists. Those finalists will be notified that they have made it to the final round and invited to perform live on stage at Art Springs festival during the Glover Awards on Sunday, April 27 at 5 pm
• Finalists must be present, and songs must be performed live at The Glover Awards to be eligible to win. The submission window closes on April 13, finalists will be notified by April 17.
• Artists performing live at the finals will need to submit equipment and technical needs to the committee chairs. Due to time constraints, preferred instruments will be an acoustic guitar or keyboard. Full sound support will be provided.
• Songwriters may choose a proxy to perform the song live on stage, but the song must be performed live for the judges to be eligible to win. Song entries will be scored based on the criteria listed, not on the quality of the performance. The Henry Glover Award is all about the “Song.”
Who is Henry Glover and what are the Glover Awards? For information, visit here: https://gloverawards.org
Criteria for the Evaluation of Compositions
Entries will be given a score of 1-10 in the following 10 categories: Title, Hook, Form, Structure, Melody, Tempo, Lyrics, Emotion, Length, Overall song, for a total score out of 100 possible points.
Submissions with the highest scores will progress to the final round which will be performed live on stage at Art Springs during the Glover Awards on April 27, 2025 at 5pm.
For questions about the competition, please contact Liz at songwriting@hotspringsarts.org